Fiat justitia, ruat coelum.

Let’s get eXcited for basketball season!

Photo courtesy of goXavier.com | This Friday marks the official start of the Xavier basketball season as the Musketeers take on Moorehead State. Basketball might not be everyone’s passion, but it is a great way to build camaraderie with your peers.

If you’re not a big basketball person, but are feeling left out, check out these tips!

Pick a favorite basketball player and watch them specifically: There are a lot of little rules and technicalities in basketball and it can be quite overwhelming to just dive straight into the game.

Be a host or hostess: Things can get a little out of control at the games, so take control before and host a pre-game! Make a playlist, provide snacks and invite all of your friends. It can help get you excited for gameday and you can feel included in the festivities.

Be best dressed: Spice up gameday by trying to find the most festive outfits. The jersey and jeans look is always a classic, but spice it up by going to Goodwill and creating some new game day outfits. Maybe you’ll even get lucky and find some vintage Xavier fan gear!

Memorize all the cheers and be the loudest cheerleader in the student section: There is a multitude of chants that the student section will scream periodically throughout the game. If you’re a very extroverted or particualry loud person, make this your time to be an integral piece of the crowd.

Make or rent funny signs and try to get on TV: X-Treme fans will loan you a funny cutou that you can wave around in exchange for your ALL card. Cutouts in the past have included Justin Bieber, the fire emoji and the Pope. You can take goofy pictures with them, and it’s a great way to get someone’s attention from across the crowd. If you can get creative or crazy enough with your sign, you might make it on TV!

Have dance parties with your friends during timeouts when the music starts: The playlist that the Cintas Center uses can get a little crazy sometimes, so enjoy it and go wild with your friends. There’s no pressure to be paying attention to the game, so the more distracting the better!

Make a Bingo card with crazy things and see if you can spot them all at the game: Some pretty wild things can go down at basketball games, so see if you can catch all of them. Basketball players get into fights, Father Graham might make an appearance or the person who they asked to make the halftime shot could ACTUALLY make it!